


The Men From Mars & the Woman From Krypton

by AXEe



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, Gen, Retro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-14 01:39:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 6,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16903680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: National City, August, 1969, one month after the Apollo 11 Moon landing.    Government secretary, Alex Danvers has led a very boring life for the last two years.  Despite working for NASA she's relegated to filing papers, stamping forms, and generally being ignored by every other person at NASA.But when strange beings suddenly invade the office after-hours, Alex will find herself teaming up with a mysterious and bewitching woman from the stars to save the planet...





	1. The Vistors

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! I'm back! Did you miss me? :=). This little gem was inspired by several things: the recent landing of NASA's InSight probe on Mars, which rekindled my love of space exploration, the old movie serials that inspired _Indiana Jones_ and _Star Wars_ , and, finally, the webseries "The Mercury Men", which itself was inspired by those same old movie serials. If you haven't seen, "The Mercury Men" go and check it out, you can find it on YouTube.
> 
> Finally, this was also an experiment to see if could right a multi-chapter fic in one go, without stopping. So wish me luck and enjoy :=)

******

**NASA National City Research Facility  
National City, August 1969**

“G’night, Alex”

“Night, Barry” Alex Danvers replied distractedly as she collated the last paper, filing it in the appropriate drawer, before she turned off her desk lamp, grabbed her bag, and made her way to the elevator, her heels muffled by the carpeting.

Despite being more than smart enough to compete with the folks who designed the rockets, her job at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was the glorious and glamorous role of secretary, her co-workers largely ignored her, and the administers didn’t even know she existed unless something wet wrong, at which point they’d appear at her desk, furious and all-but frothing at the mouth.

She hadn’t even been able to see the Moon landing, having been too busy at the office. She’d seen the footage on the news a few weeks later, but it wasn’t the same.

Stepping into the elevator, she reached for the button when the lights suddenly went out.

Pausing, she weighed her options, the lights in the elevator were still on, which mean that it was probably still working, and she only had one floor to go.

As if deciding for her, the lights in the elevator went out as well, and she forced to jump out before getting trapped inside. Looking around, she saw that the emergency lights were still on. Mentally sighing, she began to slowly make her way down the dimly-lit hallway to the emergency exits.

Stopping suddenly, she frowned as a shadow suddenly flew across the wall

“Hello?” she called out “Barry? Is that you?”

No answer came back, and, feeling a knot of tension suddenly tightening her gut, she edged forward down the hall, hoping that she’d just bump into the janitor. Rounding the corner, she jerked to a stop, gasping in horror at the sight of her co-worker Barry now laying dead on the floor, his face twisted into a mask pure abject terror.

Panting hard, she turned and blindly sprinted back down the hallway, freezing as a large shadow suddenly loomed over her.

Slowly, a large shape emerged from the doorway. It was large; at least seven feet tall, hunched over due to the ceiling, with chalk-white, leathery, reptilian skin, and heavily muscled.

Letting out a rattling hiss, the creature slowly approached her, forcing her stumble back into the wall, tripping over her own feet to crumple to the floor, staring up at the creature in horror as it loomed over her, it’s sharp, pointed teeth gleaming in the dim light as it raised one, three-fingered hand above its head, ready to swipe it down at her…

A bright bolt of blue light suddenly struck the creature in the shoulder with a sizzling hiss.

Blinking as the creature staggered back, Alex turned and watched as a figure in black marched down the hall, a pistol of some sort in their hand as they repeatedly fired, dozens of blue bolts sizzling through the air to strike the creature, which roared in clear pain as it staggered back down the hall.

Finally cornering the creature up against the far wall, the figure aimed their weapon and pulled the trigger one last time, apparently killing the creature.

Audibly sighing as the creature collapsed to the floor with a pained roar, the figure turned and quietly walked back down the hall to where Alex was still huddled against the wall. Looking up, she was shocked to see that her savior was a woman, dressed in a formfitting black jumpsuit with long dark hair with a streak of white in it and piercing green eyes.

Scowling, the mysterious woman reached down, and taking Alex under one arm, pulled her to her feet and ushered her down the hall…


	2. The Invasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter TWO! Enjoy! :=)

******

The mysterious woman was silent as she ushered Alex down the hall, around a corner, and finally ushered her down to the floor, crouching down besides her, holding a finger to her lips as several more, inhuman shadows passed by in the distance.

Nodding silently, the woman pulled Alex upright again and ushered her down the hall and into an office, shutting the door behind her and locking it, putting a chair under the knob for good measure.

“What are they?” Alex asked, pleased that her voice didn’t tremble too much

“Dangerous,” the woman answered in slightly accented English. She slowly turned around, assessing Alex “are you all right?” she asked

“Yeah. Sure,” Alex scoffed “who are you?” she asked

“My name is ‘Astra’.” the woman answered

“American?” Alex wondered

The woman snorted

“Hardly,” she scoffed

Alex frowned at her suspiciously

“And, before you ask, I’m not Russian either,” the woman added as she removed a small circular item from her belt. It was about the size of a makeup compact, perhaps a little bigger. Placing it on the desk, she calmly watched as a cone of light suddenly bloomed out of the center of the item, displaying a series of strange, hieroglyphic-like symbols in the air above it.

Frowning, Astra studied the projection of shifting symbols, scowling as she did.

Shutting the strange device off, she turned to Alex

“What’s your name?” she asked

“Uh, Alex,” Alex answered “Alex Danvers”

“Is there anyone else in the building?”

“No, not that I know of,” Alex answered, confusion growing by the second “why?”

Astra’s face became grim as she answered

“The beings are from the fourth planet in this system,” she explained “the world you know as ‘Mars’. They’re here to destroy you,” she un-holstered her weapon from her belt as she reattached the strange projector “I can’t get through any of my people,” she continued “which means that, right now, you and I are the only thing standing between the White Martians and the destruction of this entire planet. Will you help me?”

Alex gapped at her…


	3. We Two Against the World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter three! :=)

******

Alex took a breath as she stared at the woman before her.

“Wait a minute,” she shook her head “are you telling me that men from _Mars_ have just invaded the planet?” she demanded

“Yes” was the came, matter-of-fact answer

Alex shook her head again

“I’m going to call the police” she said, reaching for the phone on the desk, only to freeze at a sudden, but very close, growl

“They’re coming” Astra declared…

******

Alex took a breath as she, reluctantly, followed the mysterious Astra out of the office and down the darkened hall, keeping a careful watch for anymore creatures. As she followed the strange woman, she couldn’t help but study her, she seemed almost…otherworldly, the way she moved, the way she spoke. Was she an alien too? If the creatures were from Mars, was Astra from Venus?

“Hold,” Astra suddenly whispered, stopping. Freezing behind her, Alex cautiously peered past her shoulder, watching as three more inhuman shadows cross the wall. Slowly exhaling, Astra glanced back at Alex and nodded, the two women continuing on down the hall and into a disused corner office.

Pulling the circular device from her belt once more, she tapped a series of commands into it, a three-dimensional projection of National City appearing before them, zooming in on the research building that they were in, focusing in on the basement, a strange cylindrical item suddenly appearing

“ _No…_ ” Astra breathed

“What?” Alex asked “what is that?”

Astra’s response was cut off by a sudden roar from behind them. Turning, both women started as one of the Martians suddenly burst through the doors, charging for them…


	4. Gravity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FOUR! Enjoy! :=)

******

Alex grunted as she dove for cover, watching as the Martian got the upper hand on Astra, knocking the weapon from her hand before suddenly gripping her by the throat and easily lifting her off her feet, pinning her to the wall, baring its teeth at her.

“ _Kryptonian!_ ” it hissed as Astra choked and gagged for breath “ _you have no claim in this part of space_ ” it growled

“Shoot it!” Astra gasped out at Alex.

Gasping for breath, Alex quickly climbed onto her hands and knees and began frantically hunting for the weapon as the Martian threw Astra aside before hauling her up by her throat again.

Finally finding the weapon, Alex turned and aimed it at the strange monstrosity, pulling the trigger, the golf ball-sized bolt of blue light sizzled through the air to strike the Martian square in the head, killing it with a startled roar.

Dropping to the floor, coughing for breath, Astra reflexively rubbed at her throat as she stumbled over and took the weapon from Alex

“Nice shot” she commented

“I was aiming for its shoulder” Alex admitted

“Oh”

“Who are you?” Alex wondered again, turning towards her “you’re not…” she trailed off

Astra smiled softly at her

“…Human, no” she confirmed as she retrieved the fallen circular device again, pulling up the three-dimensional image again

“What is that?” Alex wondered as the cylindrical item was highlighted again

“A gravity engine,” Astra answered “but why would they need a gravity engine?” she mused. Her expression turned grim “unless…” she shut off the device and turned to the window, pulling the blinds open, before turning back to Alex grimly.

Slowly, Alex approached, seeing nothing of interest except for the moon gleaming big and bright in the night sky

“They’re going to pull the moon into the Earth” Astra explained grimly…


	5. Scientists and Explorers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back! Enjoy! :=)

******

Alex stared at the woman before her

“That’s impossible,” she exclaimed “you can’t _move_ the Moon!”

Astra’s expression said otherwise as she turned and headed out the door without a word.

Hurrying to follow, Alex panted for breath as she caught up

“So, so who are you?” she asked

“I’m Kryptonian,” Astra answered “from the planet Krypton”

“Never heard of it”

“I imagine not,” Astra chuckled “it’s some distance from Earth” she explained

“So, why are you here?” Alex wondered

“We’re scientists and explorers,” Astra explained “we’ve been watching you for sometime”

“Scientists and explorers,” Alex repeated “with a gun”

Astra glanced at the weapon in her

“Even scientists and explorers need to defend themselves” she dismissed.

Suddenly another White Martian rounded the corner. Grunting, Astra threw herself against Alex, shoving her against the wall as she raised her weapon and fired, killing the Martian with a single headshot.

Panting for breath, Alex found herself staring up into bright, grey-green eyes as she pressed tightly between the wall and Astra

“Hi” she panted out

“Hello” Astra nodded, smirking as she pulled away and approached the dead Martian, frowning as she crouched down next to it

“What is it?” Alex asked as she cautiously approached

“It’s wearing a tool belt” Astra noted

“So?” Alex shrugged

“White Martians don’t have technology,” Astra explained “their society is based in the powers of the mind, not tools” she added as she rooted through the tool belts pouches “wait, what’s this?” pulling out her hand she held up what looked for all the world like a small, handheld walkie-talkie

“A radio?” Alex wondered, crouching down next to Astra

“Yes,” Astra nodded, turning the device over “ _’made in Japan’_ ,” she read “hmm, seems like our Martian friends have some Earthly help…” she trailed off, suddenly standing up “where’s this hallway lead?” she asked

“Uh, my boss’s office” Alex answered “why?” she asked

But Astra had already moved down the hall, pausing as she reached the doorway, silently beckoning Alex over

“I was afraid of this” she muttered as Alex peered past her shoulder, seeing nothing in the office except for a large, spherical glass jar which held what looked like a brain…


	6. Myriad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double-update! Chapter SIX! Enjoy! :=)

******

“What is it?” Alex whispered

“Trouble,” Astra answered grimly “stay here,” she warned “as long as you stay outside the room, it shouldn’t know you’re here” she explained

“It’s a brain in a jar, it shouldn’t ‘know’ anything,” Alex pointed out. She glanced up at Astra, noting that she hadn’t moved “have you seen anything like this before?” she wondered

“Once” Astra nodded

“Yeah? How’d that turn out?”

“Not good” Astra answered as she took a clearly nervous breath and then, slowly, edged into the room, approaching the desk and the strange, macabre object with clear trepidation.

Reaching the desk, she slowly crouched down, examining the spherical glass container before slowly reaching out towards it

_**Astra In-Ze** _

Astra froze

“So,” she breathed out “you recognize me”

The brain within the jar seemed to grotesquely _pulse_ as the voice spoke again, an oddly feminine tone that seemed to echo around the room without any source

 _ **Your reputation precedes you, General**_ it declared

“You have me at something of a disadvantage,” Astra remarked “you know me, but I don’t know you” she remarked

 _ **My name is unimportant,**_ the brain remarked _**but what is important is that you won’t succeed**_

“If the moon falls, the Earth will be destroyed,” Astra pointed out “I’d say that you’ll die too. But…you’re a brain in a jar…so, you’re already dead anyway”

 _ **Strong words from an alien,**_ the brain countered _**I’ve always wondered why you’ve held such a fascination for this planet**_

“Everyone needs a hobby,” Astra dismissed “now why were you sent here? The gravity engine doesn’t need a supervisor to operate. No, you’re here for something else”

 _ **You know what I am,**_ the brain remarked _**you know what I’m capable of**_

“Did you practice those lines in mirror?” Astra countered “oh, wait, I forgot, you can’t see yourself”

 _ **You hide behind sarcasm,**_ the brain countered _**you’re afraid, Astra. Terrified. Terrified that you won’t succeed, that your favorite little world will die. That the Human you’ve been watching for all this time will die. Yes…the Human, the girl. So young, so full of promise. Pity it’s about to snuffed out**_

A distant roar suddenly filled the air.

Standing up, Astra charged out of the room, grabbing Alex’s hand

“They’re coming!” she warned as she pushed open a door, and after checking inside, shoved Alex inside the small office, thrusting the small circular device into her hands

“Stay here,” she urged Alex “no what happens or what you hear, do not leave”

“But what about you?” Alex demanded

“I’ll be fine,” Astra assured her. She gestured to the device now in Alex’s hands “Myriad is coming” she said just before she shut and locked the door, the roar of the White Martians and the sounds of Astra’s weapon filling the air moments after…


	7. Brave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SEVEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

It was silent.

Alex took a breath, unnerved by the silence, as the circular device in her hands suddenly lit up, a blinking symbol appearing on it’s surface; a curved, stylized S-shape within an upside-down triangular shape.

Frowning, Alex reached out with trembling hands and touched the symbol, watching as more symbols scrolled down the ‘screen’ (for lack of a better word) before a shimmering column of light suddenly erupted from its surface.

Gasping, Alex dropped the device, watching as a ghostly, three-dimensional image of a woman appeared before her. Dressed in flowing blue robes, she looked almost exactly like Astra, only lacking the streak of white in her hair. The projection smiled softly, almost motherly, at her

“ _Why are you afraid?_ ” she asked

“Because I don’t know who you are” Alex stammered out

“ _I am Alura Zor-El,_ ” the woman declared “ _sister of General Astra In-ze_ ”

“They’ve taken her” Alex panted out

“ _I know,_ ” the projection nodded “ _and if they had not overlooked you, there would no hope for your world. Although you owe me and my world no allegiance I must ask that you make every effort to free Astra and stop the gravity engine_ ” she explained

“Me?” Alex demanded “why me? Can’t you send someone else?”

“ _There is no one else_ ”

Alex shook her head

“I can’t,” she pleaded “I’m, I’m nobody, I’m just a secretary for god’s sake, it’s impossible”

Alura raised an eyebrow challengingly at her

“ _Impossible?_ ” she asked “ _the people of Earth had already done the impossible,_ ” she declared “ _within the entirety of this galaxy, through it’s long history, no race has ever broken free from the confines of their home and set foot on another world in so short a time. Save for one_ ”

Her form suddenly seemed to explode into a swirling cyclone of images and sounds which swirled around Alex in a dizzying, awe-inspiring maelstrom. A rocket being launched, a submarine surfacing, a Spitfire soaring high above London.

“ _…we chose to go to the Moon and do the other things, not because it is easy, but because it is hard_ ” President Kennedy declared from behind a podium

“ _That’s one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind_ ” Neil Armstrong declared from the surface of the moon

The cascade of images and sounds suddenly stopped, leaving only the image of Alura smiling at her

“ _You do the impossible everyday,_ ” she explained “ _whether you know it or not. It is because of this, of humanity’s ingenuity and courage that my sister and I have chosen to watch over your world, to act as your stewards and guardians until such time as you venture out into the stars. You fear the White Martians, when in truth it is_ they _who fear_ you _. They are afraid of how quickly you advance, of your people one day supplanting them, and it is that fear which allowed a great threat to bend them into its pawns_ ”

With a soft smile her form vanished.

Leaving Alex contemplating her words…


	8. Agents of Tomorrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter EIGHT! Enjoy! :=)

******

The moon hung low in the sky, bright and full, seemingly perched at the pointed tip of the LuthorCorp Tower like a seal balancing a ball on its nose.

Standing by the window watching it, Alex glanced to her left, spying the exit sign nearby. Glancing back up at the moon, she made her decision…

******

Astra grunted at the hard blow to the face.

Standing before her, the two White Martians bared their teeth at her, as one held out the brain in the jar

 _ **Where is your communicator?**_ the brain demanded

Reeling from the blow, Astra coughed and shook her hair out of her face, twisting her arms feebly in her bonds, feeling the rough concrete of the column she was tied to.

“John Brown,” she spat out, wincing at her split lip “ask me another and I’ll knock you down” she rhymed

 _ **Where is the communicator?**_ the brain insisted, it’s telepathic ‘voice’ painfully pushing into her head _**you placed it in an office. Which one?**_

“Timbuktu” Astra spat

 _ **Again**_ the brain ordered.

The other White Martian swung out with its arm, delivering a vicious backhand to Astra’s face. Painfully gripping her chin, it twisted her head to one side, raking one claw down her cheek, drawing a copious amount of blood, earning a short pained bellow from Astra. Gritting her teeth, she wrenched her head free from the White Martian’s grip and glowered at the brain

“Why are you here?” she demanded “what did Cadmus promise you? Not money, obviously. So what? Power? Prestige?”

 _ **Life eternal**_ the brain answered

Astra barked out a weak laugh

“Well, nice to see that Cadmus left your sense of humor intact,” she chuckled “without my communicator you’re trapped here. Once the moon falls, your taskmasters wont be able to teleport you out, you’ll die with the rest of the Earth”

 _ **A small price to pay**_ the brain dismissed

“I know who you are now,” Astra panted out “who you were. Mercy Graves. Ex-wife of billionaire Lex Luthor. But he threw you away like garbage, too focused on helping the U.S. beat the Soviets to the moon,” she took a breath “that’s how Cadmus recruited you, isn’t? They promised you revenge. Revenge on all those who wronged you over the years. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And all you had to do was to sell your soul, to become an abomination,” her lips pulled back in a defiant sneer “ironic, isn’t it? The alien has more of a soul than you”

 _ **You gave the communicator to someone else,**_ the brain, now identified as ‘Mercy Graves’, commented _**who?**_ it demanded

When Astra didn’t answer, the second White Martian backhanded her across the face again

 _ **They’re getting angry,**_ the brain commented _**I doubt I can keep them from eventually seriously hurting you**_ it warned

“A small price to pay” Astra mocked

 _ **Then perhaps the girl you care for will be more forthcoming,**_ the brained remarked _**your niece. Kara**_

Astra froze, her face hardening

 _ **You try to hide her from me, but I see into your mind,**_ the brain continued _**she’s so young. So innocent and sweet. I promise you, Astra that before this night is through I will find her and when I am finished with her she will die screaming**_

Astra slowly looked up at the abomination

“Before this night is through,” she began “I’m going to crack that jar open and kill you. Slowly”

 _ **And how will you do that?**_ the brain mocked _**your own people refuse to aid other worlds. You are alone. Helpless. Not even your precious Alexandra Danvers can help you now. She wants to free you but her fear chokes her**_

Astra smirked

“Wrong”

With a grunt, she suddenly tore free from her bonds; ducking under the first White Martian and somersaulting across the floor to grab her weapon, springing up to quickly kill the two White Martians before flowing up to her feet and approaching the fallen jar containing the brain of Mercy Graves, idly nudging it with her foot

“Alex? You care to do the honors?” she asked.

Cautiously emerging from behind the pillar that Astra had been tied to, Alex hefted the broken chair leg in one hand, tossing the scissors she’d used to cut Astra’s ropes as she did

 _ **Impossible,**_ Mercy Graves’ brain hissed, the disbelief clear in its telepathic ‘voice’ _**you are nothing. No one. A weak, feeble-minded secretary with no—**_

With a grunt, Alex suddenly swung the chair leg down of the jar, shattering it and crushing the brain within, angrily swinging it down again and again

“Hey! Hey!”

Astra suddenly grabbed her arm, stopping her

“I think you got it” she remarked…

******

Alex frowned as she examined the cuts and bruises on Astra’s face

“I’m surprised they didn’t break your jaw” she remarked as she rooted around in the first aid kit

“That wouldn’t be very good for them if I couldn’t talk,” Astra remarked “why did you come back?” she wondered as Alex gently swabbed at the cuts and scrapes with some rubbing alcohol

“I talked to your sister,” Alex explained “she gave me a pep talk. Told me how brave we—humans—can be”

“You can be,” Astra nodded “but you’re braver than most”

Alex smiled, shyly ducking her head as a blush tainted her cheeks and she busied herself in the first aid kit

“That brain thing, earlier, it said that you’d been watching over…well I assumed it meant me”

“It’s true,” Astra nodded “my people have a strict policy of non-interference with more ‘primitive’ cultures. But my sister and I saw how fast you were advancing and how easily that could be threatened. So we and a select group of others took it upon ourselves to watch over Earth and its people. Safeguarding you both from threats from the stars and from right here on Earth”

“The Russians”

“Not as often as you’d think,” Astra remarked “actually your own government is often a bigger threat to world peace and stability than the Soviet Union”

“That should surprise me,” Alex remarked “but I work for the government,” she shrugged “but if its just you and your sister, how do you do it?” she wondered

“There are others,” Astra explained “we have something a network here on Earth, composed of different people from all walks of life. Scientists, engineers, philosophers, housewives even. We call ourselves ‘myriad’. Composed of people from all nationalities who help us in safeguarding this planet,” she smiled bittersweetly at Alex “your father was one of them,”

Alex looked up at her sharply

“Yes,” Astra nodded “Jeremiah Danvers was one of our best and brightest until that plane crash took him. I never knew him personally, but from I’ve been told, he was a good man”

Alex nodded numbly

“He was,” she remarked, her gaze distant “I remember…a girl, blonde, sweet, her name was ‘Kara’ I think. Strange girl”

“My niece,” Astra explained “one of our advance agents if you will”

“Can’t she help us?” Alex wondered

“No,” Astra shook her head “she’s off-world right now,” she explained.

Just then the building began shaking violently

“The gravity engine,” Astra realized “they’ve started it”


	9. To Die Trying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter NINE! Enjoy! :=)

******

Alex clung to Astra tightly for support as the building continued rocking from violently before suddenly stopping just as quickly as it had started

“That’s it?” Alex asked incredulously

“No,” Astra shook her head “that was just the gravity engine activating,” she explained “it’ll need time to build up a sufficient charge to draw the moon”

“How much time?” Alex wondered as she followed Astra out of the room and down the hall

“Depends,” Astra shrugged “could be hours, could be minutes, it all depends on much power they can supply it with”

“Power,” Alex asked “like electricity?”

“That would work,” Astra nodded. She paused and turned to look at Alex “why do you ask?”

In answer Alex pointed out the window they were walking by, the two women watching as the lights of National City’s skyline slowly went out one by one

“Crap” Astra muttered…

******

The stairwell was quiet and darker than the rest of the building. Fortunately Astra had some kind of alien flashlight in her belt and they used that to guide their way towards the basement parking garage, emerging from the stairwell just one floor up from their destination.

Suddenly Astra held up a hand, signaling for Alex to stop.

“What is it?” Alex whispered as Astra held up her communicator (which apparently was multipurpose, functioning as some kind of scanner as well)

“Two White Martians” Astra answered, pointing towards an office. Holding a finger to her lips, she drew her weapon and quietly edged along the wall towards the half-open door, Alex following.

Peering around the door, they both frowned at the sight of the two White Martians rooting through a series of filing cabinets, clearly hunting for something. With a growl, one looked up, its eyes widening as it saw the two women.

Before it or its partner could react, Astra fired two shots, killing them both.

“Nice” Alex muttered

“Thanks,” Astra muttered as she stepped into the office “why would they be looking through an office?” she wondered

“Don’t look at me,” Alex exclaimed “in case you’re forgetting, Buck Rogers, I’m an innocent bystander here”

“There must be _something_ of import here” Astra exclaimed as she rifled through the papers and files that the two White Martians had strewnm around the room “who works in here?”

“Uh, I think this is Enzman’s office” Alex answered

“Was he working on anything in particular, do you know?”

Alex shrugged

“This is NASA, everything we work on is important,” she replied “but I think he was working on something for the Air Force”

“Something like a spacecraft?” Astra asked, holding out a file folder to Alex

“ _‘Project Orion’_ ,” Alex read “ _proposal on the feasibility of a nuclear-propelled space vehicle’_?” she frowned “a nuclear spaceship?”

“One propelled by nuclear fission,” Astra explained “think of it, the power of a nuclear explosion being used to push your ship forward into space”

“We could go to Mars with something like this,” Alex realized “no one wonder the Martians are afraid of us”

“And Cadmus used that fear to manipulate them into destroying the Earth” Astra added

“That’s the second time you mentioned that,” Alex realized as she followed Astra out of the office “just who or what is ‘Cadmus’?”

“We don’t know,” Astra admitted “Cadmus could be a person or a group of people. What we do know is that, whoever they are, they’re only interested in their own survival. The first records of them appears after July of 1947, after an alien craft crash-landed here on Earth” she explained

“Oh, yeah, I think I read about that,” Alex nodded “that town in New Mexico, what’s it called…?”

“Roswell,” Astra answered as they came to the door to the parking garage “whoever or whatever Cadmus is they feel that their own survival and goals supersede that of the rest of the planet’s”

“That’s why they’re will to destroy the world” Alex reasoned

“Yes,” Astra nodded. She paused “you don’t have to come with me,” she advised “this isn’t your fight, you can leave now”

“The hell it isn’t my fight,” Alex exclaimed “this is my planet we’re talking about, and I’m not going to let a bunch of overgrown lizards from Mars destroy it!”

“We might very well die,” Astra warned “in fact, the chances of either of us making it through this door alive are virtually non-existent”

“Then at least we died trying” Alex declared

Astra chuckled, reaching out to gently brush the tip of one finger down Alex’s cheek

“You’re so very brave” she breathed

“Yeah?” Alex asked “ditto”

Pulling back, Astra put a hand on the doorknob

“Ready?” she asked

“Wait,” Alex turned and before her nerve left her, reached up and pulled Astra in for a quick kiss “for luck” she explained breathlessly as she reluctantly pulled away

“Is that what you call it?” Astra quipped with a smirk as she tightened her grip on the doorknob “ready?”

“Ready” Alex nodded

“One…”

“Two…”

“Three!”

They charged through the door…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Project Orion" was a real US government project. Although never built (that we know of, it was the Cold war after all :=), various tests carried out concluded that the US military could, theoretically, build a spaceship as large as four hundred meters in diameter with a weight of approximately eight million tons and capable of hosting a city of 100,000 people or more.
> 
> Interesting fact, but even back in the '60s and '70s, the US could have built a spaceship that size and the cost would have been a third _less_ than that of the U.S.'s annual defense budget


	10. Gravity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here we are folks, the last chapter of "The Men From Mars & the Woman From Krypton" (not counting the epilog), I hope everyone enjoyed the ride and I hop you'll enjoy the conclusion, also I want to wish everyone an probably-very-belated happy Hanukkah :=).
> 
> Now then, enjoy! :=)

******

To say the White Martians were surprised by the sight of the two women bursting through the door was an understatement. Astra got three in quick succession before the others reacted and took up defensive positions, firing back with their own weapons; disk-shaped devices attached to their palms which fired a sizzling red beam of light.

Ducking behind a pillar, Astra and Alex both cringed at the sizzling heat from the White Martians weapons

“Here!” Astra thrust her weapon into Alex’s hand

“What?!” Alex demanded

“I need you to cover me while I shut down the gravity engine!” Astra explained “just aim for their shoulders and fire” she teased before she turned and dove out from behind their hiding place, sprinting across the open parking garage towards the gravity engine.

The strange device wasn’t all that big given its intended use. It was about three feet tall, made of metal with a large transparent cylinder at the top, making the whole thing look like a lantern. At it’s base, dozens of cables spread out across the floor, connecting to the exposed rebar in the walls and ceiling, clearly the White Martians were using the building itself as an amplifier of some sort.

Spotting one White Martian charging for Astra, Alex took aim with the alien pistol and squeezed off several shots, taking out four in quick succession.

“Hey!” Astra yelled “did you just close your eyes?!” she demanded

“Well it worked didn’t it?!” Alex called back

“I said ‘ _aim_ and fire’!” Astra snarled as she knelt down besides the gravity engine and scrutinized its controls. Pulling out her comlink, she attached it to the side of the device “come on, come on,” she pleaded as Alex continued laying down cover fire “work it out”

With a chime, Kyptonese symbols began scrolling down the comlink’s screen and the gravity engine began sparking and crackling

“Yes, yes!” Astra cheered just before the engine suddenly let out a loud warbling hum as the lights in the parking garage suddenly came back on with blinding intensity, causing the White Martians to scatter “what?! No!”

“What is it?” Alex asked as she sprinted over “what’s wrong?”

“It…,” Astra gestured to the gravity engine wildly “it needs power!” she explained “I reversed the polarity, but it doesn’t have enough power to send the moon back into position!”

“Well plug it in!” Alex urged

“This isn’t a toaster!” Astra snarled just before a blast of red light suddenly sizzled through the air, hitting her in the shoulder and pitching her back at least six feet into a pillar, where she slumped to the ground, unmoving.

Turning, Alex panted harshly for breath as she raised the weapon still in her hand and took aim at the rapidly-growing group of White Martians and pulled the trigger.

Nothing.

Staring at the weapon, she desperately pulling the trigger, but the weapon was clearly out of ammunition. Sparing a glance back at Astra, Alex felt her gut twist as she realized that it was all up to her now.

Power. The gravity engine needed power. But where was she going to find power in an empty parking garage? There were no cars nearby to use, no service trucks, no generators, nothing.

The White Martians growled, raising their own weapons, and an idea suddenly struck. Grunting, Alex dove out of the way, awkwardly tumbling under the sizzling beams to grab one of the cables leading from the gravity engine. Gasping, she managed to wrench it free and turned, holding it out in front of her like a shield.

The White Martians seemed to chuckle darkly at the sight and raised their weapons and fired. Cringing, Alex ducked down and thrust the cable upwards, catching the beam.

With a sudden hum, the gravity engine flared to life again.

Roaring in clear defiance, the White Martians suddenly lunged for Alex, only to be pushed back by a series of familiar bolts of blue light.

Turning, Alex gaped at the sight of several people, men and women, now standing behind her in a clear firing line, all holding weapons identical to Astra’s as they fired, driving the White Martians back, killing most of them and sending the others into the retreat.

One woman stepped forward

“Are you Alexandra Danvers?” she called out

Panting for breath, Alex weakly nodded

“We’re looking for a woman named ‘Astra In-ze’.” the woman declared. Turning, Alex sighed in relief at the sight of Astra painfully sitting up, awkwardly holding her injured shoulder. Shakily climbing to her feet she gave Alex a weak smile

“Well look at that, we didn’t die” she remarked…

******

“So that’s it?” Alex asked as she and Astra watched the rest of Myriad—a motley collection of men and women from all walks of life it seemed—dismantle and remove the gravity engine as well as remove the bodies of the dead White Martians, in a matter of minutes there’d be no trace of them, no evidence that they’d ever been here

“That’s it” Astra confirmed

“We saved the world,” Alex realized “and no one’ll ever know”

Astra smiled at her, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder

“I’ll know” she said

“So…this is goodbye?” Alex wondered hesitantly

“This is goodbye” Astra confirmed

“What if I don’t want you to go?” Alex wondered, finding herself getting lost in grey-green eyes

“Well now,” Astra smirked “that depends”

“Depends on what?”

Astra reached out, cupping Alex’s chin

“Depends on what your reaction will be when I do…this” leaning forward she pressed her lips to Alex, smiling when Alex eagerly returned the kiss…


	11. Red Planet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilog! Enjoy! :=)

******

**Mars  
August, 1970…**

The structure wasn’t particularly tall but spread out across the Martian sands in a considerable radius. The sound of her own breathing echoing inside her helmet, Astra took a step across the sands, pausing as she assessed the dead body of another astronaut, the torn tatters of a flag still fluttering in the Martian breeze, the lettering on the astronaut’s helmet was still legible.

**CCCP**

“ _Looks like the Russians beat us to Mars_ ” her companion commented

“ _For all the good it did them_ ” Astra remarked, gesturing towards the deep claw marks across the dead cosmonaut’s torso

“ _What do you think?_ ” her companion wondered “ _think that’s where Cadmus set up shop?_ ”

“ _It certainly looks that way,_ ” Astra remarked “ _what’s our intelligence say about this place?_ ”

“ _Not much. The Green Martians avoid it like the plague, and even the Whites have to be coerced into going_ ”

“ _Definitely Cadmus then,_ ” Astra remarked. She turned to her companion “ _well, what do you think? Should we go in?_ ”

“ _You really have to ask?_ ” Alex Danvers chuckled inside her own space suit

Astra chuckled back

“ _I knew I liked you_ ”

“ _You love me you mean_ ” Alex teased as they slowly made their way across the sands towards the strange facility…

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! I hope everyone enjoyed it and thanks to all of you who left comments. Stay tuned for more GD fics from me as well as original works :=).
> 
> Thanks again :=)
> 
> \--AXEe :=)

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought :=)


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